Beware English Ivy.

[Colin]

Hi,


Having spent the last week grafting removing a Snowberry hedge including the roots I thought at last I could have a breather but how wrong could I be.

Earlier this year I removed masses of overgrown English Ivy that had grown up one of our Oak trees and also more recently a huge amount of this Ivy which had completely covered a very tall conifer; I hadn't realized just how overpowering this ivy could be until I was reducing the height of our laurels; our neighbours gardener brought my attention to the ivy saying that's really got an hold; I was amazed as I looked up to see the conifer with a massive crown of flowering ivy; I felled the conifer and shredded it together with the ivy from the Oak tree. Both jobs were horrible.

I knew English Ivy was spreading under the laurels at the top of the garden and yesterday decided to attack the ivy before it took over; we have a very mature big Hawthorn tree at the very top right hand corner of the garden and I was dismayed to say the least to see this Hawthorn tree absolutely covered all up the tree and again with another huge flowering crown.

Yesterday turned into a nightmare of a day as I set about this ivy and unaided by Gale who was trying to blow me from the garden also as I opened the shed doors Gale was trying to remove them; fortunately my constant cloud Blackie decided not to join in which was rare. As I started to tug at the ivy the wind was covering me in debris and dust; it was truly awful but I had started and wasn't going to quit. This wasn't just an ivy it was a tree given the thickness of its branches and I was in for a lot of hard miserable work. As the day progressed I managed to remove the ivy to as far as I could reach but standing on the steep slope with the Gale giving me an hard time I still needed to remove the tourniquet this ivy was applying to the Hawthorn; I didn't want to damage the Hawthorn so ended up using a sharp wood chisel and hammer to cut through; loppers; pruning saw and my new Felco secateurs were also used in anger; this ivy was so prolific it was forcing the dry stone wall to become distorted and of course a lot of the thickest sections were in the worst possible position.

It started to rain early this morning but blew over but Gale was at her best howling around our front door just waiting for me to go up the garden. I finished severing the ivy ending up with a very big pile; having sorted the ivy now I attacked the laurels which were growing into the lane and there was a lot to cut back; armed with the big petrol hedge trimmer; loppers and secateurs I got stuck in and trimmed the lot back throwing all the brash over the wall into our garden; I now had two big piles of brash plus two big piles of Snowberry rubbish. I've spent a lot of the afternoon being buffeted around by Gale whilst I've made a good start shredding; I knocked off at 5 o'clock feeling too tired to continue but all being well I'll finish shredding the ivy and laurel tomorrow; the Snowberry I hope to compost. The pictures show better than text just what this English Ivy can be like if left alone for years; it not only covers ground it will cover anything with a vengeance; I really do have some fun; invasive Snowberry wanting to take over the garden; invasive English Ivy wanting to take over the garden and invasive mile a minute vine wanting to take over the garden; throw in lots of brambles and it means a lot of grief; my own fault because I've been concentrating so hard on the bungalow but I'll now get on top of the gardens before winter kicks in.

My compact digital camera passed away this morning and will receive a decent burial; I made my way to the top of the garden and clambered over the dry stone wall onto the lane taking along my DSLR camera; one picture and the battery died; if I tried to shoot myself I would miss.

Beware planting English Ivy and ignoring it; turn your back and the ivy will spread everywhere at an alarming speed; I'm tired with aching arms but I'm winning.

Kind regards, Colin.

 

[alp]

Colin I just can't imagine what hard work you put yourself through every day. I dislike ivy too. Neighbour grow one and the branches went into the felt of my workshop and one they went on to the top. They cling to my wooden fence which they allowed their children (who are 24 now) to wreck. I am thinking of using a tree stump killer to get rid of it. There is no point talking to these people, Only the thought of killing a plant bugs me no end. But the branches cling to everything and will soon collapse my fence, not to mention the bit going into my workshop felt roof and air vent. You might need some tree stump killer to help yourself, Colin. Don't hurt yourself clearing this monster! Take good care of yourself whilst annihilating this sucker.

 

[Chuck]

Colin I just can't imagine what hard work you put yourself through every day. I dislike ivy too. Neighbour grow one and the branches went into the felt of my workshop and one they went on to the top. They cling to my wooden fence which they allowed their children (who are 24 now) to wreck. I am thinking of using a tree stump killer to get rid of it. There is no point talking to these people, Only the thought of killing a plant bugs me no end. But the branches cling to everything and will soon collapse my fence, not to mention the bit going into my workshop felt roof and air vent. You might need some tree stump killer to help yourself, Colin. Don't hurt yourself clearing this monster! Take good care of yourself whilst annihilating this sucker.

I have the same problem with unwanted brush and trees. Use a product that has Triclopyr as the active ingredient. Apply it to the cut stump and it will kill any underground runners or potential growback.

 

[alp]

I don't know the ingredients of this. Hope it has the ingredient needed to eradicate from source.

I bought something similar and haven't had the time or heart to use it. It was reduced to £3 and now that the weather is sunny and clear, I might use it on my tree stump ..

@Coliin, it might be a good idea to use this as no matter how hard you saw and how many times you tear the roots, there will be bits you can't eradicate and in the process might hurt yourself. It might be a good idea to get one of these and apply it to localised areas to save hurting your back or your body. After all, we are not young any more. I hope you can enjoy your time with Bron instead rather than spending too much time tidying up the garden..

 

[Colin]

Hi,


Many thanks alp for your concern and for your sound advice which is most welcome. I'd like to take it a lot easier but given the size of our gardens there is always lots of work to be done and then of course is the bungalow maintenance. I feel I've got to get ahead with jobs before winter hits us because our winters seem to last nine months every year with the remaining three months bad weather. I've tackled this English Ivy on a big scale already this year and killed it so I'm confident that I've now killed the ivy growing up the Hawthorn tree; I can see all around the Hawthorn trunks and they are clear of ivy for a couple of feet so the ivy cannot repair itself; this is incredibly hard work but avoids the use of chemicals. I too dislike killing any plant but at times its got to be done. The ivy ground cover I can simply physically rip out of the ground; I plan to replace the ivy with other more friendly ground cover that won't go ballistic up walls and trees. I'll be watching the hawthorn tree though and any ivy appearing will be quickly removed.


What a shame alp you having such dire neighbours; Bron and I too suffer such neighbours to one side whom we will never ever like nor get along with in fact we've given up trying and totally ignore them; with a bit of give and take the whole world would be a much better place but unfortunately with more and more on the take without the slightest give things are sure to get worse.


Now at 70 I'm certainly not getting any younger and my bones ache; last night I awoke at 2:20 and the silence was deafening; all I could hear was gentle breathing from Bron; Blackie my pet cloud and Gale my wind turbine must have been having a night off because no rain and no wind; it truly was most eerie; I couldn't get back to sleep at all I ached so much; aching or not I wandered up the mountain early this morning and knocked off at dinnertime having successfully shredded the ivy and the laurel so I'm pleased and at last I can relax a bit knowing these two big jobs are out of the way. I've used the shredded material as more mulch. I'm on light duties this afternoon because I've been pushing my luck for so long doing all this hard grafting; we've got nine shrubs on order from J Parker's so these will need planting as soon as they arrive; one big job I want to do is to mulch the entire garden and I'm listening for tree surgeons working nearby then I go on the scrounge for loads of free wood chips. I'm very pleased however to have completed so much in so little time.

One idea I came up with to save me a lot of work is to use a small cheap tarpaulin for moving debris from the top of the garden; I used to either bag it up or carry it down in my arms; I now lay the tarpaulin out ensuring to weight it at the two bottom corners with stones otherwise it would quickly disappear when my back was turned; I then pile on lots of debris; removing the stones I then grasp the two bottom corners and gently lift allowing the tarpaulin to be used as a crude but extremely effective sled; this is how I've moved the debris to the shredder over the last couple of days and the steepness of the garden now works with me for a change. With my regular compact digital camera expiring I'm now using my very cheap Vivitar digital camera so please excuse the image quality; I have an expensive DSLR but it's too big and bulky to use for work in progress.


I already spend lots of time with Bron as you kindly suggest alp; we have many trips out to stores and garden centres and being with Bron is my greatest pleasure; we come and go as we please both being retired and we can both enjoy our respective hobbies; we remain home at weekends because we dislike crowds and being jostled around by ignorant parents with equally ignorant kids. Bron's busy with her crafts and I've hooked the TV to the computer so Bron is also enjoying a 60's pop music video mix as I play on the computer; life is good and the best things are usually free.


Kind regards, Colin.

 

[Chuck]

I am not sure if the English Ivy here is the same as you have although it looks identical. Here, if the root ball and underground runners are not killed and/or removed it will come back, either from the main trunk or in places where there is none now. In your case one would need heavy equipment to dig up the root ball and even then success is not guaranteed. The only way for a guaranteed kill is to use either glysophate or triclopyr on the cut trunk and on any other shoot that comes up. You have killed everything above ground but I am afraid your work isn't over in getting rid of this plant.

 

[Robert Cummings]

The roundup chemical contains glyphosphate absolutely right chemical control is the only real answer.

 

[Colin]

Hi,

Many thanks Chuck & Robert for your information; perhaps Bron and I should look for a new home?

Kind regards, Colin.

 

[Chuck]

Hi,

Many thanks Chuck & Robert for your information; perhaps Bron and I should look for a new home?

Kind regards, Colin.

It isn't difficult. Just make a fresh cut on those ivy trunks and paint the cut trunk with the product. It will be absorbed by the roots and die. My problem here is hackberry trees. Birds deposit the seeds along my fence lines and grow up through the fence, many times tearing up the fence. Every year I have to go out and cut any new trees that have sprouted with loppers and then paint the stumps. About 7000 feet of fencing and it is work but, its the only thing that works. And Ivy is much more difficult to eradicate than a hackberry tree because of all the underground runners. Just cutting it will not work.

 

[Robert Cummings]

Yes I agree but sometimes because of where the Ivy is growing it's difficult to spray, you can loosen some of the plant from where it's growing and dip it into the weed killer, the ivy will then take it up and after a while it will start to die back. You definately need to use glyphosphate based chemical for this job though.

 

[Chuck]

Yes I agree but sometimes because of where the Ivy is growing it's difficult to spray, you can loosen some of the plant from where it's growing and dip it into the weed killer, the ivy will then take it up and after a while it will start to die back. You definately need to use glyphosphate based chemical for this job though.

I don't spray the young trees growing up through the fence. It would take 2 or 3 applications. If you cut the trunk and paint the stump cut it is a one time deal. I have found that triclopyr works a little better than glysophate for killing stumps and large roots. I learned this when it took me 3 years to finally eliminate a huge passion plant. I kept spraying and spraying roundup until I finally found the solution.

 

[Robert Cummings]

Hey Chuck, The triclo is ok if you can get the agricultural strength version a bit like glyphosphate in its garden centre domestic form is a bit slow acting.a lot depends on climatic conditions as to how well it works.

 

[Colin]

Hi,

Many thanks Chuck & Robert for posting the extra useful information.

Using Roundup or Triclopyr as you describe would indeed be the easy and most likely permanent solution to rid our garden of this ivy pest and save me lots of hard work too.

Bron and I were in our local garden centre this morning and I must confess due to your excellent advice I felt very tempted indeed to buy Roundup but didn't.

Back home after a brew I wandered up the mountain armed with rigger gloves; secateurs and rake and set about removing as much of the ivy as I could simply ripping it out of the ground; I'm glad I did this because I had a few friends with me; a little frog was leaping around and there were thousands of woodlice scurrying around; wouldn't roundup kill all these if I used it to spray the ivy groundcover? I know I'm soft but I'll rip all the ivy out by hand then I might be able to control future growth without too much effort; I want to compost the ivy if possible so if I used Roundup would this be detrimental to composting? I'm a novice just enjoying grafting in the garden and being retired I'm not under pressure to eradicate the ivy at one go.

I do listen to your advice and will act upon it as a last resort but I want to mulch all the rear garden and this too might lessen the ivy impact? I've also pulled up many seedlings and whole lengths of mile a minute vine; I grasped one thick rope of mile a minute vine and rived it out it being very long; this snaps easily if bent and I was snapping it when suddenly it sprayed my face with liquid the liquid going up my nose etc really unexpected; I hope I won't need hospital treatment when I get out of bed tomorrow morning to have mile a minute vine removed from my nose; it really is prolific.

I expected removing the ivy to be a really big difficult job but in reality I've done half of what remained today leaving a big pile ready to compost; the rake pulls the ivy in one direction bringing all kinds of debris with it but at least I can then see the ivy runners to get hold of. I've very much enjoyed today in the garden.

The pictures are very poor indeed taken with my cheap camera. I've included a picture of the valley view from partway up the garden; from our bungalow front we have magnificent panoramic views across the valley towards Castle Hill.

Thanks again; much appreciated.

Kind regards, Colin.

 

[Chuck]

Roundup is a herbicide. It doesn't affect insects or mammals in the short term. It is (presumably) a carcinogenic. I do not spray it. I paint it on the cut stump. The top part is dead the second it is cut. Roundup once applied has a fairly short life span, about 2 weeks in soil and it is gone. It is only dangerous when in skin contact and only then when freshly sprayed. It will not affect compost because compost takes weeks or months to make. When sprayed it must contact green growing material. Sprayed on the trunk or painted on the trunk of a bush or tree it will have no effect. It must be applied to the leaves or a cut surface. On a cut surface it works by osmosis down into the root system, killing it. You have a major clean up job. IMO you should use a chainsaw or loppers to cut down all of the unwanted vines and/or brush and make a compost pile out of it all. And as you cut the vines and brush paint the stems and trunks sticking up out of the soil as you go. If not painted quickly the cut will "scab" over and not let the Roundup be absorbed into the root system. In other words, paint as you go. There is no need to break your back pulling up underground runners. Leave them and they will die from the Roundup being sucked into them from the cut stumps you have just painted. You will not get them all at first. But there will be fewer and fewer sprouts coming up. When they appear just clip them off and paint the stump. In a year or two they will have completely disappeared.

 

[alp]

If you want to compost the ivy bits, best is run the lawnmower over them several times, this will speed up the process.